Hair curler



July 18, M. U E 2,166,386

HAIR CURLER Filed March 16, i938 on unfit-suck zons- 7 J v vucm 0 0 Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFiCE Application March 16,

7 Claims.

This invention relates to hair curlers.

Hair curlers of various kinds have been made in which it is necessary to employ both hands for rolling a strand of hair in a strip of material,

or metal members have been employed in which the strand of hair is rolled on the metal member and then clamped in position.

It is an object of the invention to provide a hair curler which will be formed of some resilient 10 material and which will tend to roll into a coil so that when the free end of a strand of hair is applied to one end of the material and the said end is then released under guided control it will automatically roll into a coil for confining a strand of the hair in curl-formation with means for securing the coil in position on the inner end of the strand.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a strip which in its normal condition is in 0 the form of a coil and which when straightened out may be applied to a strand of hair after which the outer end of the strip is released whereby the strip Will automatically roll into a coil confining the strand of hair in curl-formation,

said strip being provided with perforations to permit the circulation of air for aiding in drying the strands.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a strip of material which may have embedded therein resilient material or the strip itself may be formed of resilient material which will normally be retained in a coil but which may be straightened out to receive a strand of hair so that when the outer end of the strip is released 5 it will automatically roll into a coil and confine the strand of hair therein, one hand only being necessary to guide the free end of the strip as it automatically rolls into the coil.

This invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description, in view of the accompanying drawing forming a part of the specification; nevertheless, it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure, being susceptible of such changes and modifications as define no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a View in perspective of my invention shown being applied to a strand of hair,

Figure 2 is a side view of the curler moving to coiled position,

Figure 3 is a view in perspective of a modified form of the curler showing the absence of openings,

1938, Serial No. 196,255

Figure 4 is a plan view of another modified form of resilient material which tends to roll into a coil,

Figure 5 is a further modified form of the curler showing resilient metal strips or wires in a fabric strip with the metal strips or wires tending to roll into a coil.

Referring more particularly to the drawing. ill shows a strip of rubber or other suitable resilient material which is provided with a plurality of perforations H at spaced points.

The outer end of the material, as shown at i2, is rolled into a sleeve to receive a covered Wire E3. The sleeve is cemented to the wire in order to not only form an enlarged cylindrical portion but to provide a securing means for the wire I 3.

The opposite end of the strip, as shown at M, is slightly thickened or enlarged to form a finished edge at the inner end of the strip.

The material of the strip ill is so treated that the cylindrical portion l2 when released will roll into a coil at all times, as shown at l5, in Fig. 2.

In operation the edge I i of the strip i0 is placed against the head of the wearer, as shown in Fig. 1 at the inner end of a strand it of hair after the coil has been straightened out and it is held against the side of the head by one of the hands of the operator. The other end, particularly the cylindrical portion I2, is held by the other hand of the operator and the strand of hair will either fall in place or may be laid in place.

When the strand is in position on the strip ill with the outer end of the strand adjacent the cylindrical portion 12 the grip on the cylindrical portion is released and the strip will auto-matically roll into a coil while at the same time rolling the strand of hair in the coil. At this time it is only necessary for the finger of the operator to rest on the coil l2 as it is being rolled to control the speed of rotation of the coil which is being formed.

As soon as the coil has been fully rolled the outer free ends I! of the wire l3 are brought around over the top of the coil for securing the coil in position. In the event that the strip does not completely coil all of the strand on the strip the coil may be revolved until all of the strand is wound on the coil after which the free ends I"! of the wire I3 are bent around for securing the coil in position on the head as shown in Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 3 it will be seen that a modified form is disclosed in which the perforations II are omitted. It is not deemed necessary to give further description of the coil shown in Fig. 3 since it is practically identical with that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 except for the perforations H and therefore the same reference numerals will refer to like parts in the construction shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 shows a modified form in which a shaded section 20 is formed of resilient material which will tend at all times to roll into a coil whereby the outer end of the strand of hair is engaged and rolled into a curl-formation by the rotation of the cylindrical portion l2 at one end of the tension zone 20.

The remaining portion of the strip as indicated at 2| is called the slack zone due to the fact that it does not have the resilient qualities of the zone 20. In this instance the cylindrical portion I2 of the tension zone 20 will tend to roll into a coil formation and will continue to roll beyond the inner edge 22 of the tension zone 20. However, if the strand is not completely rolled against the fabric of the material shown at 20 and 2| the free end I! of the wire l3 may be rotated until the strand has been rolled entirely upon the curler. At this point the arms I! of the curler are bent around to the position shown in Fig. 1 for securing the curler to the hair.

In Fig. 5 is shown another modified form of the invention in which wires or ribbons are embedded within the fabric 3| of the strip 32 and these wires or ribbons will tend to roll into a coil at all times when the free end 33 which supports the wire I! is released. The fingers of one hand only are necessary to control the speed of rolling of the curler. The material of the strip 3i may be fabric or some composition material which is capable of being rolled into a coil by resilient members embedded therein.

It will be noted by this construction that a strand of hair may be readily rolled into a coil or curl by the simple operation of retaining one end of the strip against the head of the operator while positioning the outer or free end of the strand adjacent the cylindrical portion 12 which carries the wire IT. The fingers need only guide the cylindrical portion during its rolling operation so that the curl is automatically being formed by the release and guidance of the cylindrical member l2 of the strip.

The ease of the application of a curler to a strand of hair is due to the fact that the outer free end of the strip will always have a tendency to roll into a coil and it is important that this outer end will have this tendency since the starting of the strand in the coil is the most important act in the operation of applying the curler to the hair.

In the usual type of curler described above both hands are required to revolve the curler and sometimes the curler will slip so that it is neces sary to reset the curler before attempting to coil the hair on the curler. The difficulty of applying a curler of the ordinary type is due to the fact that all the hairs of a strand are not the same length and the ends cannot be properly positioned. In the present instance the outer free end of the strand is applied to the strip I 0 adjacent the cylindrical portion l2 and the cylindrical portion is then released under the guidance of the fingers of the operator to retard the speed whereby the curler will roll into a coil automatically without the aid of the operator. It is only necessary at the end of the coiling operation that the operator will be required to give one or more turns when necessary to complete the winding of the strand on the curler.

I claim:

1. An automatic hair curler comprising a strip of material, resilient means in the material adapted to cause one end of the strip to roll upon the body of the strip so that when a strand of hair is applied to the strip and the strip is released at one end said strip will roll the strand in curlformation, and means for securing the rolled strip in position on the strand.

2. An automatic hair curler comprising a strip of resilient material which has the inherent tendency to roll into coil formation and which when released will roll upon itself so that when a strand of hair is applied to the strip and the strip is released at one end, said strip will roll the strand in curl-formation, and means for securing the rolled strip in position on the strand, said strip being provided with a plurality of spaced perforations.

3. An automatic hair curler comprising a strip of resilient material having a portion adjacent one end forming a tension zone, the remaining portion of the strip forming a slack zone, the tension zone tending at all times to not only roll upon itself but to roll up the slack zone for confining a strand of hair in curl-formation, and means projecting from the opposite sides of the tension zone for securing the strip to the strand of hair.

4. An automatic hair curler comprising a strip of resilient material rolled into a substantially tight fitting coil and adapted to be unrolled to receive a strand of hair so that when an end of the strip is released the strip will roll upon itself and confine the strand of hair in curl-formation, the central portion of the coil being of cylindrical formation and located at one end of the strip and means projecting from opposite ends of the cylindrical formation for securing the coil in position on the inner portion of the strand.

5. An automatic hair curler comprising a strip of resilient material rolled into a substantially tight fitting coil and adapted to be unrolled to receive a strand of hair so that when an end of the strip is released the strip will roll upon itself and confine the strand of hair in curl-formation, a cylindrical portion at one end of the strip and forming the center of the coil and means projecting from opposite ends of the cylindrical portion for securing the coil in position on the inner portion of the strand, the strip being provided with a plurality of spaced openings.

6. An automatic hair curler comprising a strip of resilient material rolled into a substantially tight fitting coil and adapted to be unrolled to receive a strand of hair so that when an end of the strip is released the strip will roll upon itself and confine the strand of hair in curl-formation, and means projecting from the opposite ends of the coil for securing the coil in position on the inner portion of the strand, one end of the strip having a thickened portion.

7. An automatic hair curler comprising a coiled strip of material having embedded therein resilient material which will maintain the strip rolled in a tight coil, a cylindrical portion formed at one end of the strip and normally located at the center of the coil, and means connected with the cylindrical portion for securing the coil in position on the strand.

MARIE AUS'I'ER. 

